Life is Strange: Before the Storm
Life is Strange: Before the Storm is a three-part standalone adventure that serves as a prequel to Life is Strange, set three years prior to the main game's events, developed by Denver-based Deck Nine Games and published by Square Enix. Screenshots were leaked by 4chan anons on June 1, 2017. The game was officially announced with a trailer on the E3 2017 on June 12, 2017. The first out of three episodes, titled "Awake", will release on August 31, 2017 on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC (Steam and Windows Store).Official Announcement Post You play as sixteen-year old Chloe Price who forms an unlikely friendship with Rachel Amber, a beautiful and popular girl destined for success. When Rachel learns a secret about her family that threatens to destroy her world, it is her newfound friendship with Chloe that gives her the strength to carry on. No longer alone the girls must confront each other's demons and together, find a way to overcome them.Steam Store page The prequel will be set in May 2010, three years prior to the events of the main game, featuring returning characters William Price, Frank Bowers, David Madsen, Joyce Price, Nathan Prescott, Victoria Chase. The game will also have returning background characters such as the Truck Driver. The story will focus on Chloe's life as a sophomore at Blackwell Academy as well as the relationship between Chloe and Rachel and the events that made them bond. Max Caulfield will not be making an appearance in Before the Storm, as it is set during the period where Max is absent from Chloe's life; however, Chloe will feel her absence and will reference her throughout the game. There will be no rewind power, so choices are even more crucial in this game as Chloe can only rely on her sharp tongue. As in Dontnod's first offering in the Life is Strange franchise, every action has a consequence that affects the short, mid and long term. "Strange elements" are said to return, but the nature of these is not yet known. Community Manager of Square Enix UK, Toby Palm, announced that it will be "an entirely new story. We want to take the player on a new journey and not tell a story that players already know the ending of."Official Reddit FAQ The game's story will be a mystery story with an investigative angle like the first game. Deck Nine Games state that the story that most resonated with them was one that comfortably spanned across three episodes and takes around 6-9 hours to complete. They have listened to the Life is Strange community's wishes to see more of Max Caulfield, so a self-contained bonus game called "Farewell" will be released, which takes place long before the events of the prequel. This bonus episode will be released after Episode 3; however, it will only be included with the "Deluxe Edition" of the prequel. Deck Nine Games have emphasized that the bonus game will have no bearing on the prequel story; it is only intended as a bonus for those who wish to play as Max once again. Features: * Choice and consequence driven narrative adventure. * Multiple endings depending on the choices you make. * "Backtalk" - A risk/reward conversation mode that allows Chloe to use her barbed tongue to provoke or get her way. * Make your mark on the world with witty tags and drawings. * Choose Chloe's outfit and see how people react to your look. * Distinct Licensed indie soundtrack. * Optional in-game purchases. * Letters to Max - Chloe's equivalent to Max's Diary from the first game. Trailer Life is Strange Before the Storm Announce Trailer E3 2017 News * Ashly Burch returns to the franchise as part of the writing team to help provide consistency and authenticity to the younger version of ChloeLife is Strange: Before the Storm got a lot of help from exiting voice actor Ashly Burch (June 14, 2017), but Chloe will instead be voiced by Denver-based actress Rhianna DeVries. Ashly Burch, as well as Nik Shriner, Nathan's voice actor, were unable to lend their voice to the characters due to participation in the .Twitter post by Ashly BurchTwitter post by Nik Shriner However, the VA strike reportedly did not have any influence on the game's story. * Kylie Brown, known for her acting in Due Justice (2017) and Hold My Hand (2014), will voice Rachel Amber. * For the prequel, the diary device from Life is Strange was replaced with a letter device. The player will be able to read unsent letters from Chloe to Max in which she puts down her thoughts on what's going on, replacing Max's diary as an assistant narrative device. It's meant to grant the player a "unique insight" into Chloe's life and how she views people and events. It's explained that she doesn't send those letters because she has given up hope that Max will ever return to Arcadia Bay or play any part in her life. * Max's photography mechanic which allowed the player to take optional photos throughout the game to unlock achievements was replaced with a graffiti mechanic that allows the player to "leave their mark on the world", which is meant to be Chloe's special thing as photography was Max's. The player will often be able to make a choice on what to write.E3 Coliseum Panel (June 14, 2017) * Similarly to Life is Strange, each episode of Before the Storm will take place over the span of one day. * Focal locations that will be revisited in the game are Blackwell Academy and the junkyard. The player will get to see the origins of Chloe and Rachel's hideout. * Deck Nine Games have stated that a release for Before the Storm is not out of question.Life Is Strange: Before The Storm Switch Version Is A Possibility (June 23, 2017) * Deck Nine Games confirmed on Twitter that there will be a Platinum trophy for the PS4.Twitter post by @Ash_H_97 * In an interview, lead writer Zak Garriss stated that players should expect about 8 to 10 weeks between the three episodes, with the hope being to land on the shorter side of that range.Expect 8 to 10 Weeks Between New Life Is Strange Episodes (June 13, 2017) * Square Enix will have a presence at in Cologne, Germany, from August 22 to 26, 2017, the week before the launch of episode one, "Awake".Gamescon 2017 Official Website Featured Characters The following characters are confirmed to appear in the prequel. * William Price * Frank Bowers * David Madsen * Joyce Price * Nathan Prescott * Rachel Amber * Victoria Chase * Minor characters such as the Truck Driver Game Editions Complete Season The Complete Season includes Episodes 1, 2 and 3. Season Pass The Season Pass includes Episodes 2 and 3 and is only purchasable upon having previously purchased Episode 1 as a standalone episode. Deluxe Edition The Deluxe Edition includes the following: *Episodes 1, 2 and 3. *Bonus Episode “Farewell” featuring a young Max (to be released after Episode 3). * Mixtape Mode: a main menu option which allows you to create a playlist of the in-game licensed music and set it to play against an in-game moment of calm. *The Outfit Pack: a set of three additional outfit options that Chloe can change into at certain points in the story: Punk Doe, Hawt Dawg Man, and Illuminati. *For preorderers: "Classic Chloe" outfit. System Requirements Note: 32-bit operating systems will not be supported. Deck Nine Games On May 31, 2017, it was announced that long time PlayStation developer Idol Games had rebranded and would be known from this date as Deck Nine Games. On this same date, it was revealed that the studio has partnered with a major AAA publisher (which we now know to be Square Enix). The studio rebranded due to a shift to story-driven-narrative games following their development of a new toolset called StoryForge, which focuses on "meaningful storytelling and rich gameplay" and would function similar to the engine used by Telltale Games. StoryForge will allow the integration of "motion capture, narrative choices, music and more". The development team consists of motion capture professionals and cinematic artists who will be working 'in house'.PlayStation Developer Idol Games Rebrands as Deck Nine Games, Partners with Major AAA Publisher (dualshockers.com) Trivia * The song featured in the official reveal trailer is "Numbers" by Daughter. * The song the fictional band Firewalk performs at the punk club Chloe attends in the pre-released 20 minutes of gameplay video that was shown on the E3 2017 is "Are You Ready For Me" by the band Pretty Vicious. * The song used at the beginning of the "Chloe & David" gameplay video is "No Below" by Speedy Ortiz. * The "i" in Life '''i's Strange: Before the Storm'' was non-capitalized in contrary to the first game's title.reddit post by /u/Fry98 The title has been updated in July 2017 and now matches the first game's title. * The Steam product title had an upper case "T" in contrary to most uses and even the Steam product description. The product title has been updated in July 2017 and now matches the most frequently used title. Gallery Screenshots Life-is-strange-before-the-storm-screenshot-7.jpg Life-is-strange-before-the-storm-screenshot-6.jpg Life-is-strange-before-the-storm-screenshot-5.jpg Life-is-strange-before-the-storm-screenshot-4.jpg Life-is-strange-before-the-storm-screenshot-3.jpg Life-is-strange-before-the-storm-screenshot-2.jpg Life-is-strange-before-the-storm-screenshot-1.jpg Life-strange-before-storm.jpg Lifeisstrangeprequel-770x300 c.jpg Life-is-strange-before-the-storm-360x203.jpg Lifeisstrangerachelamber.jpg File:Snapshot 1 (6-14-2017 1-35 AM) Life is Strange Before the Storm Frank Bowers 8.png Leaked Images Chloeprequ.png|Chloe and a train. 1496267492781.png|Chloe and Rachel facing a fire. 1496267617642.png|Changing Chloe: Chloe concept art. 1496268386155.png|Rachel 1496266575645.png|Blackwell Academy (E1_S04A_blackwell_exterior) 1496267863189.jpg|Rachel and Chloe (E1_S05_017) 1496266452029.jpg|Presumably Rachel meeting Chloe (E1_S01_007) 1496271089392.png|Sawmill Misc/Promo Images Before The Storm logo.png|Game logo. Chloe-Room.jpg|Chloe's room: concept art. Chloe-Ripped.png|Promotional image from website. Before_The_Storm_Wallpaper.jpg|Promotional wallpaper. Before the Storm Promotional Wallpaper 2.jpg|Promotional wallpaper. Chloe Before the Storm Wallpaper.jpg|Promotional Chloe wallpaper. Rachel Before the Storm Wallpaper.jpg|Promotional Rachel wallpaper. Videos Life is Strange Before the Storm Announce Trailer E3 2017 Return to Arcadia Bay Life Is Strange Before the Storm First Gameplay E3 2017 Life Is Strange Before the Storm Gameplay Demo - IGN Live E3 2017 Before the Storm - E3 2017 Q&A Stream with Timestamps E3 Coliseum A Look at Life is Strange Before the Storm Chloe and Rachel ESRB Life is Strange Before the Storm Gameplay – Chloe & David PEGI Note: In the E3 Coliseum pre-release footage reveal, they show a few minutes gameplay more than in the previous gameplay videos (timestamp at 4:58 for the extra scenes). External Links * Official Website References es:Life Is Strange: Before the Storm de:Life Is Strange: Before the Storm pl:Life is Strange: Before the Storm ru:Life is Strange: Before the Storm Category:Life is Strange Category:Before the Storm